Health Poll: September Formerly the Healthcare business of Thomson Reuters

Transcription

1 Health Poll: VACCINES September 2011 Formerly the Healthcare business of Thomson Reuters

2 Executive Summary The survey asked respondents their opinions about the value and safety of vaccines. Despite recent research debunking many commonly held fears about the safety of vaccines, concerns persist among more than one-fourth of the U.S. population. Following were the results: Survey Overview Each month, the Truven Health Analytics-NPR Health Poll surveys approximately 3,000 Americans to gauge attitudes and opinions on a wide range of healthcare issues. Poll results are reported by NPR s Scott Hensley on the health blog Shots ( health/) and on air. Complete survey results are posted here: thomsonreuters.com/npr/ NPR s reports on the findings are archived here: org/templates/archives/archive. php?thingid= &ps=sh_ sttag 26.6% of respondents said that they were concerned about the value and safety of vaccines. Households with children under the age of 18 demonstrated the greatest level of concern (30.8%). The lowest level of concern (18.5%) was found in respondents 65 years old and up. Among those with concerns, 47.3% attributed their fear of vaccines to future long-term impact on health and 46% said they were worried about side effects. Only 4.2% said they were worried about ineffectiveness and 2.4% cited religious reasons. One in five respondents said they have questioned or refused a vaccine for themselves or their children, a rate that decreased with increasing age. 21.4% of respondents said they believe vaccines can cause of autism, 9.2% said they believe vaccines can be linked to cancer, 6.9% believe they play a role in diabetes, and 5.9% cite a connection between vaccines and heart disease. 23.5% of respondents said their opinions of vaccines have changed in the past five years. Of those who said their opinions have changed, 59.1% say their views on vaccines have become less favorable and 34% said have become more favorable. The Truven Health Analytics-NPR Health Poll is powered by the Truven Health PULSE Healthcare Survey, an independently funded telephone poll which collects information from more than 100,000 U.S. households annually. The results depicted below represent responses from 3,004 survey participants interviewed from August 1-16, The margin of error is 1.8 percent.

3 Survey Data Responses in BOLD represent statistically significant differences. Question 1 Do you have any concerns regarding the value and safety of vaccines? < % 76.1% % 69.7% % 81.5% < $25k 26.6% 73.4% $25k $49.9k 29.2% 70.8% $50k $99.9k 26.4% 73.6% $100k+ 23.3% 76.7% High School or Less 23.2% 76.8% Some College 29.5% 70.5% College+ 26.3% 73.7% Kids 30.8% 69.2% No Kids 24.4% 75.6% Question 2 Which of the following best describes your concerns? 1. Fear of side effects 2. Believe vaccines are ineffective 3. Uncertainty regarding the long-term health impacts of vaccine 4. Religious reasons Age < % 7.4% 44.7% 6.4% % 3.8% 48.1% 1.4% % 2.6% 46.7% 2.7% < $25k 45.8% 1.9% 45.6% 6.7% $25k $49.9k 41.6% 5.3% 50.9% 2.2% $50k $99.9k 51.2% 2.2% 46.6% 0.0% $100k+ 38.3% 13.1% 48.1% 0.5% High School or Less 45.8% 1.5% 49.8% 2.8% Some College 42.3% 4.7% 48.7% 4.3% College+ 49.4% 5.3% 44.7% 0.6% Kids 50.0% 3.1% 46.7% 0.3% No Kids 43.4% 5.0% 47.7% 3.8%

4 Question 3 Have you ever questioned or refused doctor recommended vaccines for yourself or your children? < % 71.9% % 80.8% % 87.3% < $25k 16.4% 83.6% $25k $49.9k 22.4% 77.6% $50k $99.9k 21.5% 78.5% $100k+ 13.3% 86.7% High School or Less 13.4% 86.6% Some College 24.2% 75.8% College+ 19.5% 80.5% Kids 26.7% 73.3% No Kids 15.9% 84.1% Question 4 Do you believe any of the following are linked to vaccines? 1. Autism 2. Cancer 3. Diabetes 4. Heart disease Age < % 8.9% 8.1% 6.2% % 11.0% 6.9% 6.3% % 4.6% 5.8% 4.7% <$25k 19.3% 15.8% 8.5% 11.9% $25k $49.9k 24.2% 8.7% 10.2% 4.9% $50k $99.9k 23.6% 6.3% 3.8% 2.5% $100k+ 15.9% 5.1% 4.6% 4.9% High School or Less 13.4% 11.2% 10.1% 9.1% Some College 27.0% 11.5% 8.2% 6.7% College+ 21.9% 6.4% 4.2% 3.6% Kids 24.2% 11.5% 3.4% 4.1% No Kids 20.0% 8.0% 8.7% 6.9%

5 Question 5 Have your opinions of vaccines changed over the past five years? < % 75.8% % 74.7% % 82.4% <$25k 25.7% 74.3% $25k $49.9k 21.5% 78.5% $50k $99.9k 25.7% 74.3% $100k+ 22.8% 77.2% High School or Less 21.0% 79.0% Some College 26.0% 74.0% College+ 23.0% 77.0% Kids 28.2% 71.8% No Kids 21.0% 79.0% Question 6 Have your opinions become more or less favorable? Age More favorable Less favorable Remained the same < % 47.2% 8.9% % 64.7% 5.8% % 51.7% 8.5% < $25k 47.8% 46.1% 6.1% $25k $49.9k 24.1% 66.7% 9.2% $50k $99.9k 26.6% 70.5% 2.9% $100k+ 42.3% 45.2% 12.6% High School or Less 41.9% 46.8% 11.2% Some College 26.6% 67.9% 5.5% College+ 36.0% 58.3% 5.8% Kids 31.8% 59.1% 9.1% No Kids 35.6% 59.1% 5.3%